Unseeded South Dakota State’s quest for a second consecutive trip to Frisco took it to Sacramento, California in the second round of the FCS playoffs, where it used a dominant first half to eliminate No. 4 Sac State. The quarterfinals see the Jackrabbits venturing across the nation to the opposite coast, where CAA automatic-bid winner and fifth-seeded Villanova awaits in the greater Philadelphia region.
Kickoff is 2 pm eastern Saturday on ESPN+.
Villanova is the CAA’s last hope for meaningful late-round playoff representation this season. Conference co-champ James Madison, the tournament’s third seed playing host to Montana Friday night, was the CAA’s lone at-large selection, and the Dukes are poised to begin reclassification to the FBS Sun Belt Conference in 2022. At least one CAA team has advanced to the FCS semifinals for the past eight seasons.
While the CAA’s image could use a Nova win sorely, perennial Missouri Valley Football Conference power SDSU would be happy to end that parade before it starts. It’s quite capable of doing so as one of the strongest unseeded FCS playoff teams in recent memory. This is the second week in a row the Jacks are favored to beat a seeded team.
Quarterfinal Previews
Montana vs. JMU
ETSU vs. NDSU
SDSU vs. Villanova
MSU vs. SHSU
Villanova’s Offense vs. SDSU’s Defense
For a squad averaging 30.8 points per game, Villanova has underproduced lately, notching 21 points each in a win at Delaware to punctuate the regular season and in the second-round triumph over visiting Patriot League champion Holy Cross. In the win vs. HC, Wildcats QB Daniel Smith was 8-of-22 passing for 133 yards. It was the ground game that won the day for VU; Justin Covington’s pair of rushing touchdowns and Jalen Jackson’s single TD comprised the scoring. Both runners were good for north of four yards per carry.
Smith is a threat to run in his own right, but he can also be counted on to regain rhythm through the air. His 135.4 pass efficiency rating on the season trails only JMU’s Cole Johnson and Elon’s Davis Cheek among conference signal-callers.
The Jacks’ defense is equipped to continue Smith’s slow stretch relative to his standards, though. Its 18.8 PPG scoring defense ranks 15th nationally. SDSU is outscoring opponents 114-30 in the first quarter of games this season, good for a ripe average of 2.3 points allowed per first quarter.
2020-21 HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-American linebacker Adam Bock is far and away South Dakota State’s leading tackler (59 solo tackles in 13 games played). He’s supported amply by fellow LB Logan Backhaus and by sophomore cornerback Dalys Beanum, whose four interceptions in fall 2021 include a hat trick of INTs against first-round foe UC Davis.
SDSU’s Offense vs. Villanova’s Defense
While Nova boasts a potent RB tandem in Covington and Jackson, SDSU’s two-headed monster of Pierre Strong Jr. and Isaiah Davis at tailback is even more prolific. The Strong/Davis combo was put on display in the spring’s Jackrabbit run to Frisco.
This time around, quarterback Mark Gronowski, one of the subdivision’s premier young talents, is absent amid knee injury rehabilitation. Samford grad transfer Chris Oladokun has played well beyond what might be expected of a fill-in, putting up a 22:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio to complement a 62.2 completion percentage.
Oladokun has the lethal twins Jadon and Jaxon Janke at his disposal at receiver. Jaxon’s 960 receiving yards are 17th in the country; he recorded six straight games eclipsing 100 yards receiving entering the playoffs.
Villanova will count on linebacker Forrest Rhyne (11.1 tackles per game, fifth in nation) and on senior defensive back Christian Benford (18 pass break-ups and seven interceptions as FCS leader in passes defended) to stem the tide.
Special Teams
Wildcats kicker Cole Bunce is 14-of-17 on field-goal tries, good for top 25 in FCS in FG percentage.
SDSU freshman kick returner Tyler Feldkamp has the potential to be dangerous. On 14 returns, Feldkamp is averaging 17.7 yards per carry with a long run of 41.
The Last Word
“Traditionally, [South Dakota State] always seems to have good [offensive and defensive] lines. And right now, we think some of our strength is our lines as well … We have a lot of maturity on our team right now, and it is in the lines for the most part … When you look at [SDSU] on offense, you look at their size, they’re 300 across the board, they’re 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, so they’re a good line. When you watch them on film, they do a great job. Pierre Strong and Isaiah Davis are getting yards because of the line. They were able to get a 4th-and-1 to seal the game last week; it’s because they got pretty good push on that play.”
– Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante, a 2021 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year, told HERO Sports
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